Laser Correlography: Transmission of High-Resolution Object Signatures Through the Turbulent Atmosphere

A correlogram is the two-dimensional autocorrelation of the image of an object illuminated with non-coherent radiation. A laser correlogram is obtained from the power spectrum of the irradiance pattern scattered from the object when illuminated with sufficiently coherent radiation. The resolution of this signature is dictated by the size of the receiving aperture, with relatively minor degradation by atmospheric turbulence. This report collects in one place information which has been available up to now only in conference proceedings or in limited-circulation Research Notes of the Riverside Research Institute. The subjects treated analytically include: a model for laser backscattering, studies on the influence of atmospheric turbulence on the laser correlogram, statistical convergence properties of the laser correlogram signature, qualitative experimental laboratory results, and the outline of a design for a ruby-laser experiment using space objects.